THE FAKE IDENTITY

ARIA

Victor grabs my wrist and pulls me inside. He shroud a blanket over my shoulders, covering me in his wolf scent. We seize our mouths as the guards start roaming outside the door. A few minutes later, the sound of the boots disappears.

“Why are you here?” Victor whisper.

“I want to enroll in Wolves Academy, and you will help me.” My hands put my bag on his blue couch.

The news of Hale's death startles his soul, and his face turns pale. Before he can console my pain, a loud bang on the door draws our attention.

"Hide inside!" Victor walks over to the door.

My feet run to his bedroom while he opens the door... only to be greeted by a guard.

"Have you seen a hunter?"

I grasp my mouth and suppress the sound of my breathing.

"What? N-No." Victor lies, his hands shaking behind his waist.

"We're searching for him, be careful." The guard glances around the living room for a brief second, then slowly shifts his gaze back to Victor's face.

“Close the door!” He walks away.

“I understand you want revenge, but enrolling in the Wolves Academy is way too dangerous. Lozark Aylestone will kill both of us.” Victor closes the door, turning his head to me.

“You're an alchemist. You can find a way to block my scent, Victor.” My feet take a step in his direction.

“Lozark Aylestone is a maniac. If he finds you…he will send the entire wolf force after us.” He perches on the blue couch.

“You shouldn't risk your life, go back!”

Leaving with no choice, I open my bag, pull out a dagger, and point it at his neck.

“Aria!” He widens his eyes.

“You can't back off your promise, Victor!”

“If Hale and I hadn't saved your life from the enemy pack that day, you would have been dead by now.”

He wipes off the sweat from his forehead.

“No one knows a thing about Alpha's son. Even if you enroll in the academy, you can't find him.”

“That's not your concern.” I grit my teeth.

“My brother, who never hurt an innocent soul, died a horrible death. You can't expect me to forget everything and move on!”

Victor takes in a deep breath, grabs the back of his neck, and stands on his feet. A look of guilt flashes over his face.

“This is for Hale.” Words come out of his mouth, submitting to my request. I soften my guard and slowly pull back my dagger.

“I will make you a jade bracelet with my blood. The bracelet will block your scent, so never remove it from your wrist.”

“Next, we need a fake ID for you. Choose a fake name for yourself.”

A breath slips free of my lips. It doesn't take me time to choose one.

“Hailey.” It resembles Hale.

Victor nods his head, then asks me to take a good rest as more challenges are coming our way.

***

The next day…

Victor gently wraps a sea-green jade bracelet around my wrist. He was up all night, making it for me.

“Your scent is finally gone.” The corner of his mouth curves proudly.

My gaze observes every tiny detail carved on the bracelet. We hunters have a habit of taking notes of every object.

“What about the fake identity documents?” My gaze lands on his face again.

“I have asked someone to forge adoption papers for us. He's an expert."

“Who?”

“Tobi Andrews, my nephew."

"He won't rat me out?"

"Tobi doesn't know you're a hunter. That boy never asks questions as long as we pay him." He says, confident and calm.

“Let's discuss the plan in detail.” Victor grabs a small silver needle. The tip of the needle is hot and dipped in black ink.

“You're Hailey Randle, my adopted daughter!”

“Adopted daughter?” I am startled.

“We have an orphanage in the pack for all the abandoned pups. The orphanage is called Lancasters’ Home.” He grips the needle tightly.

“For your background information, your parents abandoned you at the Lancasters' Home right after your birth. You don't remember them. When you turned twenty-two, you got adopted by Victor Randle.”

My head shakes in response.

“All the children in the orphanage have a special black ink wolf tattoo pinned on their wrist. The warden carved that tattoo on orphans when she welcomed a new admission. It works as an identity for the orphan wolves."

"Endure the pain." Victor holds my right hand and turns it over.

I bite my bottom lip as he inserts the hot ink into the skin right below my wrist and draws the face of a wolf. The black ink slowly gets mixed with the color of my blood.

"Once the rumor spreads that I adopted a daughter, Alpha will send someone to check on your identity." Victor pulls out the needle from my skin.

"What if he cross-checks with the orphanage?" I slide back my hand, feeling numb.

"The orphanage is a bit far from here. He won't bother to visit them unless your actions catch his attention. For now, he will only cross-check with me!”

A sigh falls off my lips.

***

One week later…

Victor strictly commanded me to stay inside for a week to let the tattoo heal, whereas he went to the Wolves Academy and submitted my admission form. The fake documents of my adoption passed the review by the administration. On the other hand, Lozark sent a guard to Victor's house.

"Show me your wrist." He orders,, flashing a cold expression. His eyes are observing my moves.

I reveal the tattoo on my wrist while Victor stands in silence behind me. The guard drifts his fierce gaze from my face and focuses on the tattoo on my wrist. He roughly rubs my skin, attempting to pull it off.

"Ouch!" My lips fake it.

The guard stops, landing his gaze on Victor. He asks for the adoption papers. Upon receiving the papers from Victor, he read the words in deep silence.

"Everything seems fine." Saying that, his hands pass the documents to Victor.

I turn my head to Victor, and he flashes a smile.

"Show me your claws." The guard commands, grabbing my attention again.

Victor and I aren't prepared for it.

"Quick!"

My hands refuse to move. The guard loses his patience and clutches my wrist, pulling my hand closer to his face.

“Reveal it!”

“What are you waiting for?” He narrows his eyes.

I slide my free hand under my shirt behind my waist, intending to grab the dagger tucked into my jeans. As my fingers wrap around the handle of the dagger, another guard barges into the house.

“A few of our guards caught a suspicious man near the Green Line. Perhaps the hunter we're searching for!" He announces, catching up his breath. The guard immediately frees my wrist from his grip and strides out of the house, following the other guard.

I release the dagger from my grip and look at Victor. He clenches his shirt above his heart, feeling relieved.

***

Three days later...

It turned out the suspicious man caught near the Green Line was from an enemy pack. He suddenly became the center of attention. On the other hand, my identity was confirmed and the admission procedure was completed.

The academy is separated from the pack, surrounded by huge pine trees. My steps approach the prodigious black gate of the academy, wrapped in golden pothos leaves.

Two masculine guards are positioned on either side of the black gate. Sensing my presence, their eyes flash a keen look.

“I am Hailey Randle, new admission.”

“ID card?” The guard on the left asks.

I pull out the ID card from my bag and show it to them. The academy provides IDs upon the confirmation of admission. The guard scans every detail on the card.

“You can go inside.” They open the gates.

Sucking in a breath, I step inside, slowly taking steps towards the main building. The academy is similar to a castle.

“Stop right there!” One of the two guards groans behind me.

My head slowly turns to them.